Dear Listees,

Although I finally got the loss of power fixed after taking the Vanagon
to two bad dealers and my former mechanic who did not set the idle right,
one of those three appears to have partially stripped the oil drain where
the plug goes in after an oil change.

I took the Vanagon in again today to the good dealer that fixed the power
loss problem and they said that if they took the plug out to change the
oil, I could lose the whole engine if the plug is stripped because they
could not fix it.  Sigh. The good mechanic at this dealership who usually
works on Vanagons and has two of his own was not there today.

The mechanic I used to go to says he can probably fix  the stripped
drain problem  by getting something called a "heli-coil" plug, I think.
He was the one who noticed the problem in the first place and did the
last oil change, putting in 10W40 for the summer. I want 20W50 in there.

Right now I do not need an oil change yet, but I want to do the right
thing and sure do not want to lose the engine over a plug. Can this be
fixed with a bigger plug and is that called a heli-coil?

I am still mechanically challenged and have not yet  had time to sign up
for a course on fixing the van and am about to leave for two camping
trips.  So all advice, help and consultation will be gratefully accepted.

Maureen Stretch
Natick, Mass.
91 Vanagon GL Westy "Johann"